What It's Like to Live Through Today's Chaos in Boston

An eerie calm has seethed throughout the city of Boston this Friday afternoon while Blackhawks chop at the air above us.

Sitting in my breezy apartment just a mile from the site of the Boston Marathon bombings, I feel at ease. The sirens of the Boston University Police and Boston Police bring on a certain sense of peace. The entire city has postponed its way of life in pursuit of justice. My Facebook news feed has been ticking away all day filled with prayers for Boston and already nostalgic panoramic mobile uploads of the Charles River. Today, Bostonians sit and wait. 

A suspect in Monday’s Boston Marathon bombing is at large in the city of Boston. The 19-year-old suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in on the run, after he lost his 26-year-old brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev in a shoot-out on Thursday evening with Boston police. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has issued a "shelter-in-place" urging thousands of Massachusetts residents to stay home seeing as the suspect is dangerous and possibly armed. The shelter-in-place also stands as a precaution as authorities have also expressed the possibility of a possible cadre involved with these recent atrocities.

It all began just four days ago, when two explosions occurred at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, injuring hundreds of civilians and taking the lives of three Boston residents: 8-year-old Martin Richard, 23-year-old Lingzi Lu, and 29-year-old Krystle Campbell. Bostonians were urged not to jump to conclusions and not to place blame before palpable evidence was found. Then, a robbery occurred at a 7-Eleven in Cambridge, MA around 10:30PM. The two robbers fatally shot an MIT police officer, 26-year-old Sean A. Collier, then carjacked a vehicle at gunpoint leaving the driver unharmed. The two men told the driver they were responsible for the Boston Marathon bombings while holding the driver hostage. From there, a massive search ensued for the two men, which ultimately led to the death of suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev. 

I worry. As a Boston resident, as an American, and as a millennial, I worry for the future of our country. I worry that we are unable to protect us from ourselves. It is heartbreaking to know that it was someone’s intention to kill as many people as possible at one of Boston’s most cherished and charitable events. As news updates continue to spew out of my television, it is difficult to form any sort of cohesive explanation for such atrocities. Is there any way to rationalize this? 

For now, all we can do is pray for one another and be cautious. This is when we, as a country, must focus on the good. We must thank and pray for our heroes in uniform for risking their lives for our continued safety. We must keep those who have lost loved ones in our prayers.

It is only a matter of time before the roar of Fenway can be heard again, before runners take to Commonwealth reminding me to get off my couch, and before colleges across this beautiful city return to bustling with innovation. Here’s to the spirit of Boston and here’s to being #BostonStrong.